Tangled Web
by wingedsanya
Summary: When Jake accidently touches a girl in the woods by Cassie's barn and absorbs her DNA, he realises that he must find this girl before the Yeerks get her first. But the animorphs get tangled up in Max's life, and Itex will do anything to get both of them.
1. Chapter 1

I am somewhat depressed with the state of this crossover section so I must start on my quest and postpone my + Anima story. I'm not saying the stories are bad; I'm just very, very, very picky. Anyways, it is my quest to try and write a good story for several sections that are, in my opinion, lacking. Again, I'm not saying your stories are bad. They are actually okay. I just don't get them.

Sadly, I dont own either animorphs or Maximum ride, and that make me sad and irritable.

* * *

Flying. It's just amazing. I believe I've mentioned this to you several times already, but I will never, ever get sick of flying. If any dumb scientist says "Max, we can make you human!" I swear, I will laugh until I can't breathe, then throw a chair at their head and jump out the window.

Fang angled his wing, making minute adjustments with his feathers to glide through the air like a torpedo through water. (Ah, the poetry of a bird kid. Isn't it wonderful?) He swooped beneath me, so he kind of looked as through he was my shadow on the clouds below. Fang, he was smart, brave, handsome… Gah! Did I just say that? What is with me today? First the poeticness, then this?

_Max…_

Angel, not the voice. A pleasant surprise. _What, sweetie? _I asked mentally. _Everyone's tired and hungry. And Gazzy fell asleep. _

I looked around, surprised, to find that what she said was true. Angel looked exhausted, Gazzy was asleep in Iggy's arms and Iggy looked as if he was ready to fall asleep right then and there and send both him and Gazzy plummeting to the ground. Nudge was quiet, for once, and Fang, as always, was silent, not betraying any feelings or weaknesses. Which could be a bad thing, I mean, look what happened in DC.

A pinprick of light flashed through the clouds, momentarily blinding me. Fang looked at me. I nodded back. We angled ourselves downward.

"Lights mean people. People mean city. City means food, shelter, and enemies. Food and shelter sound great, enemies not so. Food and shelter overpower enemies, so we land." The logic of on-the-run, mutant flying avian Americans. Pretty sad.

We dove down in a tight, spiraling descent, and landed in the woods near the city. We pulled our wings in tight and tied our windbreakers over them. I sent fang to go collect food with Nudge, and me, Gazzy, Iggy and Angel climbed up into the trees to wait. Iggy and Gazzy started to make a fire, and Angel fell asleep. I took watch.

Later, warm, full, and with Iggy on watch, I drowsily noted a group of birds. An eagle, some ospreys, a peregrine falcon, and a red-tailed hawk. Funny. Birds usually don't hang out with different species of birds. Plus, these birds were heading toward the city. But, I was too tired to go investigate. Sleep…


	2. Chapter 2

We were by Cassie's barn, just well, chilling. It would have been wonderful to say that we were plotting the destruction of the Yeerks and the salvation of all man and animal kind, but we were just watching Cassie set a fox's broken limb, bored out of our skulls.

We had had a hair-raising adventure, and lets just say that the Yeerks weren't exactly pleased about it. Neither were the cops. Or the manager of that office building, the fire department, and bomb squad. Or the National Guard for that matter. Or um, you get the idea.

But Rachel loved it.

"THAT WAS FRICKING SWEET! WE SHOULD DO THAT STUFF MORE OFTEN!"

Marco frowned. "How about NO."

Cassie looked at me seriously. "Jake I swear I didn't mean to shoot it with he Drakkon beam! How should I know that lighter fluid, Andalite technology, and a Drakkon beam would explode like that?"

I groaned. "We have to keep a low profile guys. Cassie, honestly. Did you think I didn't notice those scorch marks in Tobias' clearing? I'm serious. You and Tobias. No more bombs. Ever." If a hawk could smirk, Tobias would have an evil grin on his face.

I was just about to start a long-winded lecture, when I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye.

"Um guys, I'll be right back. I think I saw something." Before anyone could stop me I dashed into the woods. I dodged a tree--- and slammed right into a girl.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." I gasped, helping her up. Then a strange, yet familiar sensation flooded through me. The sensation of absorbing DNA. She staggered around, dizzy, and then, with an amazing burst of speed, turned and ran into he woods. Wow. She must be on the track team or something. I made my way back to the others.

Rachel looked at me. "Jake? You okay?" I shook me head and said, "I just acquired a new morph. Without meaning to."  
"Well, show it to us!" Rachel demanded. I started to argue, but Rachel was stubborn. She wouldn't back down.

"Here goes possibly the most embarrassing moment in my life." I muttered. I thought hard about the girl. She was fourteen or fifteen, brown hair, brown eyes, tall. I felt myself changing into the girl. It felt weird. I felt, well, light, powerful. My heart thumped faster than normal. I took a deep breath and felt my lungs fill, but something else did to. Like, air sacs. The word just came to me from her mind. I shot up several inches, and became thinner, but stronger. But the morph wasn't done yet. I felt me bones getting thinner and lighter, hollow, like birds. Then I felt something in my back. Something was stretching and growing, feeling soft and warm against my back, like feathers. The change was complete.

Marco snickered, and Rachel cracked a smile. From their point of view, I'd turned into a fourteen-year-old girl. Embarrassing.

"So, Jake. Any particular special skills, etcetera, with this morph? Doesn't look incredibly lethal." Cassie remarked. I folded my arms and frowned. They started to laugh.

"Hey, it may not look lethal, but…" So fast they could barely see me, I hooked my foot around Marco's leg and sent him crashing down.

"She has really good eyesight too. Like a hawk's. Really fast too, and she's really light. I think she has hollow bones. And…" I unfolded the feathery wings that I had felt. They stopped laughing. I pushed off the ground with a powerful flap, and hovered for a minute before landing. I morphed back into myself. They're eyes were wide. Cassie looked thought full. I could tell what Marco and Rachel were thinking. "I WANT A MORPH LIKE THAT!" They shouted.

Then I had a horrible thought. "We need to find her first." I said. "Before the Yeerks do."


	3. Chapter 3

Woot! I am so proud of this chapter. It's not very long, but i like it.

I don't own Maximum Ride, Animorphs, or Steak and Shake. Bite me.

* * *

The flock and I huddled around our fire. After my strange encounter with that boy, I'd ordered that no one was to leave our camp alone. I was worried, though.

"We usually don't stay this long." I said to Fang. "We should leave." I was much more jittery than normal. There was something about this town.

Hey, Max. The kids are tired. They're hungry. Lets just stay for a few more days, unless Erasers attack." He was right, dang it.

"Fine." I stood up. "We're gonna stay for two days more." Nudge cheered.

"Omg Max when we went shopping for food I saw the cutest clothes and maybe if we had enough money we could get some, because my jeans are, like, hellooo grimy! I mean I can barely move in them. I think that spot is blood, but it might be catsup. Speaking of catsup, is it 'catsup' or 'ketchup'? I like 'catsup' better, because it has the word 'cat' in it and yum, catsup, can we get a burger at the fast food place cause I am starving and then I'd pour loads and load of catsup on it and pickles too and maybe they have curly fries! I love curly fries! Remember that place that had really good curly fries by your mom's house and then when we went back when we were there last and they didn't make them anymore? I could eat like three orders of curly fries and they were sooooooo yummy! So can we can we can we? PLEASE?"

I reeled back with the sheer weight of all those words pounding my poor, battered body.

"Fine! Lets go get a burger! Then, maybe, if you guys don't cause a scene or blow up the Steak and Shake, we can go buy some practical and preferably cheap clothes."

As the other cheered and we took off, I mouthed to Fang and Iggy "Why didn't you stop her?" Fang shrugged and Iggy grinned at me evilly.

Today was starting off wonderfully. I punched myself in the forehead. Dear God, kill me now.

_That can be arranged, you know, _The Voice said snidely. _Shut it! _I growled at it. Distantly I could hear the younger kids starting up a chorus of the song that never ends.


	4. Chapter 4

Peh neh neh neh neh nah nah NAAH! Pen neh neh neh neh NAH!!

So today i was hanging with my main peep, Chubbs and Fu fu cuddly poo (later renamed something else.) And by peeps, i mean it. My friend raised quails. Chubbs is the alpha female, while Fu Fu Cuddly Poo is Alpha male, though he's been renamed bastard.

Anyway, i don't own Maximum Ride, Animorphs, Steak and Shake, or even Peh neh neh neh heh nah nah NAAH! Peh neh neh neh neh NAH!

cause Steak and Shake's a restaurant, Maximum Ride and Animorphs are K. A Applegate and James Patterson's problems. Peh neh neh neh heh nah nah NAAH! Peh neh neh neh neh NAH! belongs to Castle, the best TV show ever, besides Firefly. Also, both of them have Nathan Fillion in them.

* * *

I ushered the flock into the nearby Steak and Shake, praying that it wasn't full of Erasers like our last fast food culinary experience. We could certainly use less of those. I mean, Erasers, not culinary experiences. Though I'd be fine if we had less of those two. Remember New York? Jason the snotty waiter and the olive oil? I had hoped we'd just get our stuff to go, but the flock wanted a sit down meal. As in, sit down and eat in front of a busload of people. Oh, God, my wings were aching from holding them in so tight.

We ordered our vast amounts of food, and sat down. I met Fang's eyes, and he looked at slightly freaked out, which shows up on Mr. Emotion as lots of blinking and foot tapping. Iggy looked kind of worried too but the younger kids didn't care. They were happy that they were getting food. Even Nudge, who was going to be a vegetarian, had three triple cheeseburgers, and half of my order of chicken fingers.

Fang picked up his burger, grinned mischievously, and took a bite. With his mouth full, he looked at Nudge and said, "Yum, no rats in these!" He took another bite, chewed thoughtfully, and added. "Nope, it's ground hog." Nudge shrieked, and threw hr burger across the room, then shoved back on the table, causing her chair to screech backwards and flip over. An angry man stalked toward Nudge, and grabbed her shoulder. Streams of catsup trickled down his face to blend with sweat and mustard.

"You little brat! This shirt is brand new!"

Now, dear readers, before I go on, can you see a pattern? New York, nice restaurant, olive oil on waiters head, cover blown. California, fast food place, attacked by Erasers, cover pretty much blown, captured. Which is why I, the only sane one, never wanted to come here in the first place.

So anyway, I got up quickly, steeling myself for a fight, which invariably happens in the adventures of Max and her merry, mutant, fun-loving cohorts. But before I got to them, a group of kids got up, and pulled Nudge to her feet.

"Hey you idiot, it was an accident. Now, go pick on someone your own size, or you can mess with us. We play kinda rough, but were tons of fun." Now, I could tell this kid was bluffing, but the man seemed to buy it, now that his odds were six to one in his opponents favor. He really seemed to panic when the flock came over. Seeing the odds were now eleven to one, he shot us the bird and marched off towards the restroom. Gazzy cracked up and said, "Man, you scared him! He turned the color of cottage cheese and pretty much wet himself!" I turned toward the boy and his friends, then gasped. His eyes flared with recognition, but before the boy from the woods could do anything, I yelled, "Flock, now! Everyone out! U&A!" We raced for the door, wrenched open the Emergency exit, and among alarms and sirens, pushed off the ground.

* * *

I ran outside, and my body acted instantly, shooting upwards, wings exploding from my back as I morphed. I pushed off the ground after them.

"Jake!" My name turned into the cry of a red tailed hawk as Tobias shrunk and sprouted feathers. _Wait! _Cassie morphed into a cheetah, and raced under me, amazingly fast. From above, our over lapping shadows made her look as though she had wings. I looked at a couple specks in the distance, and they ratcheted into focus. I sped off fast, with Tobias flapping behind me and Cassie below, both trailing in my wake as I arched across the sky, feeling hot and jittery, going way faster then the normal speed the bird kid part of my brain told me I should. They were getting closer.

"Wait!" I screamed in the girl's voice. "We just want to talk to you! It's really important! PLEASE!" But it was no use. The kids folded their wings back and curved into a steep, deadly dive. I didn't care, though. I was going to follow them no matter what, even if I got stuck in this morph forever.


	5. Chapter 5

Ahh! I'm soooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry! I just haven't had the time or inspiration to update. School is hard, and i've had some friendship troubles and needed to prune my friend bush. Ufortunately, i just have been really busy and going through a kind of moody, depressed, teenager angst stage that just saps away inspiration. But i feel better now.

Anyhoo, I's good to be back, and i hope you enjoy this chapter. It took it's time getting here.

* * *

I was mentally berating myself. How could I lose them? With her powerful eyesight, I should have seen them, but they did some sort of dive and they were lost inside the woods. I forced myself to land, then shrunk back to my original form. Tobias landed beside me. Cassie burst out of the woods and morphed back to human.

"So, there are six of them, huh." She remarked. "Human-bird recombinants."

"How do you know stuff like that?"

"My parents are vets, remember."

_Why don't you let me talk to them? We're both bird-humans, anyway. She might feel safer talking to me. _

Tobias, man, you might have solved our problems.

"You can try, but no guarantees."

Tobias took flight.

"Good luck!" Cassie called.

* * *

We landed and were in the process of packing up the sleeping bags Mom gave me. Total was being our watchdog from the air, when Angel stiffened.

"What is it, sweetie?" I asked cautiously.

"I don't get it. It feels human, but at the same time, like a bird. It's strange."

_Not as strange as you guys. At least _I'm _just a simple teenager in a bird's body. _

"Who are you?" Snarled Nudge. Sometimes, she was just so darn cute.

_Well, you could say I'm an ambassador from the Animorphs. We want to help, but if you're anything like us, you probably won't take it. No offense, but you are really stubborn. Jake is freaking out, and you're in danger. _

"Again, who ARE you?"

_Depends. Which form do you want me in? Bird? Human? Cat? I make a cute Chihuahua. _

Ooookaaaay.

"What ever you're in now, I guess." I said.

A red-tailed hawk landed at my feet.

_Surprised? _

"Not really."

Angel cocked her head.

"That's funny. You're a bird, but you weren't always one. You were human. Then… What are Yeerks?"

The bird quivered, then expanded, feathers melting into skin, beak receding into mouth, etc.

For a brief second, a boy stood there, with wings for arms and hawk eyes, but then I blinked, and he'd finished the change. Now before me stood a teenaged boy in a t-shirt and shorts, with floppy brown-blond hair. He gave a smile that looked kind of awkward, and then said,

"Yeerks. They're the reason all of us are in grave danger."


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everybody! You know, I was going to put this story on hiatus for a while, but then I realized I left it at a really big cliffhanger, and that it's my single most popular story. And now I feel like a bitch. Thank you.

But seriously, this is what I need. I need to get back into the swing f things. So maybe, every Tuesday or Wednesday, or at least every other, I should try to update. This will be my New march's resolution! Especially since I don't have any anime to watch now. Huzzah!

On to the story. Wow, it's been at least a year since I've had to write these words.

Animorphs do not belong to me. Neither does Maximum Ride. If I did, Maximum ride would have ended at the third book, and wouldn't have become like a badly written fanfiction, and as for Animorphs, it probably would have been wrapped up a lot quicker with a less depressing ending.

* * *

I lay in the barn, thinking. Plus side: Food, shelter, good stuff. Including clean clothes. Me like, me like. Negatives: Trust issues. We have a pact for now. But I'm really suspicious. The only people here I feel like I can trust are bird-boy and vet-girl. Probably because he's like us, in a way. And her, because she seems sensible. And I actually kind of like vets, since they're like Mom.

I rolled over on my side and groaned. Their were two many factors; I just couldn't figure anything out. When morning comes, we have our exchange. For supplies, a bit of money, and protection from the -Yergs, yeergs, Yyrks? - Brain-worm-slugs as far as the state border, they get a bit of our DNA for morphing.

Everything happened so fast…

I wish I could make sense of all this.

* * *

Jake:

I paced back and forth in my room. Ever since I'd tried that morph, I'd fallen in love with it. Not with her, but… The lightness. The freedom. That special feeling of being able to be up in the sky like that, in your human body. It's gorgeous, I tell you, if I had to get stuck in a morph, I would definitely chose that one. But you don't get to choose.

I rubbed my temples. It's been a long day. I wish I could trust them, and I wish they could trust us. It's obvious they don't have yeerks… but it's never truly obvious. It's too much of a risk.

* * *

Little did they know it, but the two weary, wary leaders, at the same time, had the same fears, hopes, and thoughts.

"I just want to protect my friends."


	7. Chapter 7

Omg, did wingedsanya just update?

She did! WOW!

Okay, I'm planning on finishing this fic this summer. This chapter is not the end. Unless you guys think it should be. It actually could make a really good ending for this story. But we're going to start the action next chapter!

* * *

Max POV:

We stood in the clearing. My flock was lined up behind me, poised for a fight; Jake's team behind him, less ready. To an outsider, it might have seemed like we were trusting each other, but they would be dead wrong.

_Max, I checked for evil intentions, they're clean. Also, according to Cassie's memories, she made the food herself. It's not poisoned, drugged, or anything._

I silently thanked her. It may seem a bit cruel to have Angel forcibly enter their minds, but, when our safety relied on it, I had no qualms.

"Okay then. We've held up our bargain, you hold up yours." I looked up, startled. Jake attempted to give us a reassuring smile, but it didn't work to well. I could tell he didn't smile all that much.

I stood back and watched as the Aniwhatsits walked toward my flock, reading to spring into action. And before you ask, yes, I usually am this cautious around strangers. I don't like them, and I especially don't like these kids. Cassie is a sweet person, and Tobias is nice, but this whole DNA thing? DNA should not be played around with. It's dangerous.

We're living proof.

* * *

Jake POV:

Rachel decided she would take DNA from Fang, much to Marco's dismay. She replied that, unlike him, she had the brains to back up the power from Fang's morph. Marco replied that she just thought he was hot. (He has a very colorful black eye today!)

Before he could go and get Iggy's DNA, Tobias had beat him to it. We had decided that only one person would take one of the Flock's DNA, mostly because, unlike animals, they're people, and are more easily recognized in public. Imagine three Maxes and two Fangs walking into a restaurant.

Cassie chose Nudge, and Marco was left with the difficult decision of Angel, or the… Gasman?

"ARGH!" Marco moaned. "I don't want to be either!" We all shot him a dark look. You don't say that, not to a little kid.

"Choose Angel." I turned around, and say that Max had said it. I was really surprised. I didn't expect advice from her.

"She has some special powers that could help you. And the last thing the world needs is another Gazzy." She said grudgingly, ignoring Gazzy's noisy protest. She grinned at him, and said, "Sorry, kiddo. I'm not about to let your… gift… get spread around, for the good of society." Gazzy opened his mouth to protest, then shrugged and grinned. "I guess I can't argue with that."

When the transaction was complete, the flock shouldered their backpacks. We had stocked them with food, money, and fresh clothes, because, frankly, they were a little rank.

"Oi, Max!" Max looked at me. The rest of her flock was already in the air.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you.

"Um… sure. No problem. Thank you too, I guess. For the food an' everything."

"If you're ever around here again, stop by, okay? We can always restock you and give you some time to rest."

She looked surprised for a bit, then smiled.

"Yeah. That'd be cool. If you ever need help against the yergs-"

"Yeerks."

"Yeah, them. Give us a call. If there is one thing the Flock does, it's repay the favor."

Iggy shouted down. "That's a lie, she never does that. She steals stuff all the time."

Max rolled her eyes.

I stuck out my hand. She grasped it firmly and we shook.

We didn't trust each other completely, but there was one thing we shared:

Mutual respect for a leader who kept their friends safe.


End file.
